splendidissima

Orange. Creamsicle. It does get a little less sweet after some time on my skin, and the orange zest and anise win out over the cake by a nose, but are still delicious. This was very strong on first application, but faded down to a haze of orange cream next to my skin--the throw isn't overwhelming, but the scent itself does linger, which is good. I like this one a lot, and am happy to have it.

A freebie! The description sounds intriguing...let's see. On me, this is dry, dusty desert air, with some lingering florals--perhaps the ghosts of the fallen empire's gardens? It is a very classic "perfumey" type of scent, which is not really me, but for someone who likes light sophisticated florals, this would be great. Lasts for a while, but hangs out close to the skin--again, a very subtle blend. This stayed pretty much the same over time; never quite got the incense that some others seem to have found.

In the imp: cedar and general woodiness. Wet: mostly wood, but with a hint of something darker and dustier that might be the sassafras. This does smell exactly like you would expect the Old West to smell (well, a romanticized Old West, not the version with horses and sweaty people and poor hygiene). Dry: after about an hour, the vanilla starts to peek out and sweeten things up, but it can never quite overcome the weight of the woods, and I mostly still get the dusty, wooden-buildings-in-the-sun feel from the cedar-balsam-sassafras mix. Incredibly evocative scent, but not, alas, for me.

This is lovely, perhaps my favorite of the new Mad Tea Party scents (though the boyfriend calls it "too perfume-y"). In the imp: purple fruits, most notably plum, I think, and spices, with a touch of florals. Wet: the florals come out a bit more and mingle really well with the fruit, creating a nicely balanced fruity-floral. Reminds me of Witch Queen or Morgause, actually, with a little less incense and more spicy bite. And this makes me happy, because I like both. Dry: the lily continues to get stronger, more in the foreground, but it plays nicely with the plum and isn't overpowering. The spices give it a constant complex warmth. This has great throw--the boyfriend noticed it when he walked into the room--and lasts for quite a while on my skin. Verdict: I'd contemplate a bottle of this, though maybe not immediately--I already have Witch Queen, but could use a less expensive version for daily wear.

Sweet, very sweet, like sugared flowers--and it does remind me of Hope and Faith! A very pink scent to my nose, bright and happy--might be a little young for me for daily wear, but something I'd put on if I'm feeling girly and wearing a pink dress. Not as much pink pepper as I wanted, actually; I like pepper blends, and here it's kind of overwhelmed by the sweetness. So far all the new Tea Party scents have been just fabulous, though my wallet might disagree.

I was hoping for more of the tropical fruits, but on me, Machu Picchu turns into a big bloom of tropical flowers, shining with a bit of humidity to give it an aquatic edge. It's not a bad scent, but I'm not a huge floral fan, and for some reason they dominate here, along with that hint of wetness. Fans of rainforest-y, tropical, flowery scents will love this--I may pass mine on to my mom, who will appreciate it more.

First impressions: cinnamon, cinnamon, cinnamon. Strong and spicy. Maybe some ginger in there too. I usually like ginger and pepper, though honey notes sometimes go powdery on me. This does not seem to be a problem, however, as all I can smell is spicy cinnamon. After about 30 minutes: the cinnamon has calmed down and some sweetness is coming out. Spiced honey, now, sweeter and more what I wanted in terms of balance. Dry, this scent makes me think of spice tea with honey, alongside cinnamon toast, as someone mentioned up-thread. Verdict: the final stage is very nice, but it takes a while to settle down, so I'm not sure it's bottle-worthy.

In the bottle: pie filling. Sweet berry pie, which I love. On me: the heavy sweet fruit lightens up quite a lot, probably the summer musk coming out. Still delicious--perhaps even better, because while I like the bottle scent, it might be too overpowering to wear. The dry-on-skin version is paler, more golden, and not quite as sweet, but very berry-scented still. My skin, however, appears to just eat this--after an hour or so I have to put my nose next to my arm to smell anything. I'm hoping this is a time-of-the-month skin chemistry thing, because Berry Moon is lovely and I want to smell it! Verdict: glad I got a bottle, though I'm afraid of using it up too fast...

I've been on a Halloweenies kick lately. I think my subconscious is hoping that if I pretend hard enough, we'll skip over the triple-digit summer heat and go straight to fall. It hasn't worked yet, but one never knows. Needle in a Haystack...well, first of all, my skin just eats this. Within ten minutes I had to reapply so I could review. That being said...sunny hay dominates, but the pumpkin sits behind it, like...well, like a pumpkin in a haystack in the sunshine. A fresher, outdoors-y pumpkin, though, not the cooked pumpkin that many of the Pumpkin Patch seem to feature. Never any metal, but that might be because it disappears so fast. I really like this, as it brings back fabulous memories of going to the pumpkin patch when we were kids, going on hayrides through the rows of pumpkins, climbing on stacked hay bales while trying to hold the pumpkins we'd picked out...I just wish that it would stick around longer on my skin.

Hmm...rose, amber, and straw, in pretty much that order. A warm, gold kind of rose, that goes powdery after a while--probably the amber and straw. Very pretty and floral and feminine, if one likes that kind of scent. Never really got the aquatic note--maybe a little hint of saltiness if I put my nose close and sniff. Overall: pleasant--not something I'd normally reach for, but would be great for those who like warm, powdery, feminine florals.

This was the pumpkin I was the most scared of (black musk? leather?), but that just goes to show that I need to try things out of my comfort zone more often. I think this is the best of this year's patch so far. Wet, it's a little sexy-spicy, a little dark, but mostly pumpkin. Lovely buttery pumpkin. Dry, it mellows into something incredibly buttery, sweet, foody, and rich. I'd swear that there's vanilla or a cream note somewhere in here, but maybe that's the tonka doing wonderful things. It's like the creamiest possible filling of a pumpkin pie. Delicious.

My arm has been eaten by berries. With some red spiciness from the frankincense and carnation sharing the fun. I don't actually mind this, because I like berries. But my pumpkin is gone. Every once in a while I think I'll catch a drift of it wafting up from somewhere, but then it disappears. This is a very pretty, spicy, red fruit scent, and I'll keep it, but I'm still looking for my perfect pumpkin.

Oh, wow. Amazingly sweet, fruity sugar, all over. To me this is actually a very blue scent--the spun blue sugar comes instantly to mind, with that cotton-candy-blue color. I don't exactly smell the cotton of the lint in here, but I think that it's working hard in the background to keep this one just on the right side of sweet-too sweet. I'm not sure it's a daily wear--too overpowering--but I like the fruit tones of the sugar in here, and I'll definitely wear it when I'm feeling sparkly and fun (or just wish I could be).

Spicy apple cider, with something earthy (leaves?) in the background...and yet, as it dries, an aquatic note comes out, as mentioned by others. Definitely makes me think of autumn--kind of nice when it's 100+ degrees out and fall can't come fast enough. I'm not sure how well the two levels (spicy apple and aquatic mist) work together on me; they don't quite blend, but hover. I think I'll try this in the oil burner and see if that will help, but a bottle probably isn't necessary.

This pumpkin doesn't morph much from imp to skin, which is good in terms of consistency. However, I am a pumpkin lover, and I was hoping for more of that buttery pumpkin coming through. On me, it gets drowned out by the tobacco and cedar, and there is some vanilla lurking around the edge, but the honey isn't quite sweet enough to save it. It's not bad, especially if you like tobacco notes (though the boyfriend doesn't) but I think it's not really me--not enough pumpkin in this particular section of the patch.

Testing my 2008 decant of this from the lovely Shaniqua71. In vial: oh, pretty color! very autumnal. Smells like sharp apples. Wet: arrgh! medicinal! smells like Vicks! do not want! However, I shall persevere and see if anything better develops. Great throw, by the way. After 3 hours: finally, a little better. The medicinal scent is fading a bit and becoming tangled in smoke and spices. I can finally see the autumn here, not just the seasonal catching of colds. Verdict: not working on me, but I hate to give up on a Halloweenie, so I think I'll test it in the oil burner and see if I can get some apple or pumpkin out of it. If not, off to a better home.

Sweet. So, so sweet. Very white sugar on me, not quite the cocoa that others have described. After a few minutes the violets come out more and give it a slightly spicy-floral edge, but mostly just sweet--not quite foody in the way that, say, Eat Me is, but more like a sugar bowl next to a bouquet of violets. Expensive candy and teatime. I'm glad I tried this, and will use up the imp, but I'm not sure I'll need more--I have to be in the right mood.

Jack is absolutely delicious (though of course I love pumpkin, and if you don't, this is not a good scent for you). It's a heavy, buttery, spiced pumpkin, like pumpkin bread, and it has great staying power. I do have to apply very sparingly, because it is so strong, but it smells like fall to me, like hanging out in the kitchen making all kinds of Halloween-y baked goods. Mmm.

Actually testing the same imp as sprocket21... Wet: hi, pumpkin! A very sweet pumpkin, with pear and grape notes. Kind of like carving pumpkin while eating fruit. I love pumpkin scents and Halloween-y things, so this is delicious. Dry: the initial lovely pumpkin has faded into the background now. Still there, but very faint and overpowered by sweet fruits, especially grape. The pumpkin now mostly gives a buttery, slightly spicy warmth to the fruit, and the whole thing sort of ends up smelling like spiced wine. Which is not bad, and I like the scent regardless, but I was hoping for more pumpkin at the end.

Someone up above said "sungold-pink," and yes. Hermia is very pink to me, but not blindingly so, and not little-girly, either--a deep, rich, warm shade of pink. The pepper is very prominent, but I've discovered that I love bpal pepper, and it loves me. Balancing the spiciness is the passionflower, which gives it a sweet and tropical edge. Overall: This is a great sweet-spicy scent that isn't overly floral (at least, not on me) and I am happy with my bottle. It makes me smile when I catch a whiff of it drifting up from my skin.

One of those heartbreaker-type scents. In the imp and on first application, nothing but lovely, juicy, sweet peach and vanilla--perfect for me in every way. About 20 minutes in, the juiciness goes away, and Tamora becomes a light, sweet musk, pleasant and powdery. I am greatly saddened by this change, but perhaps others would like the final stage more.

In the bottle, pretty much all sweet fruit--very well blended and hard to pick out the individual notes, though I think pear and grape are near the top. On me, very similar, but with a somewhat more ethereal edge that I think is coming from the florals--I don't really smell the flowers as such, but they definitely change the texture of the fruits to something wispier and more delicate. Light, sweet, pretty--great spring/early summer scent. One of my friends described it as smelling very "violet-colored" on me, which makes me happy, as that's one of my favorite colors. Happy I got the bottle.

All kinds of delicious! On me, the currants are the strongest note, but they're very sweet, and the cake, which isn't deathly sweet, gives the fruit some balance--I smell like the best dessert ever. At the rate I'm using up the imp, may need a bottle.

Got this because I have a black cat, and who could argue with that reasoning? It's interesting, but in the words of Dr Horrible, I don't love this. Impressions: Lemon? Lemon verbena? Plus something else herbal that I can't quite identify. Usually my skin likes mint, so if (as others have been saying) there is mint in here, I'm baffled. It's more like...I don't know, catnip or something on me--earthier and more grounding for the lemon. Nice throw and decently long-lasting, but not a knockout. I don't hate it, and might reach for it once in a while if I want a bright, not-so-sweet scent, but wouldn't be sorry to give it to someone who would appreciate it more. Though my own black cat did come over and plop himself on my lap as soon as I sat down after putting this on. Coincidence?

After I got the imp from a friend, I just had to get a bottle of this one. I like mint blends, especially if they're slightly sweet (adore the Lick It series) and my skin likes to amp mint, too. That being said... Shattered is exactly like those little pastel butter-mint candies that my grandma always used to have. You know, the ones that come in pale pink and green and white and have a creamy texture. It's like those, but on my skin--sweet (but not overly so), minty (but with a hint of fruit at the edges), sharp (but sweet-sharp, not metallic or anything) and cool (literally, leaves my skin feeling slightly cold). Hardly changes at all from bottle to skin, which is great. Another success!