darkling

Netzach in the bottle smelled very similar to Kurukulla: very sweet rose, perhaps with lotus? The rose sweetness remained on my skin but began to incorporate a woodsy note over time. The wood scent began to predominate over the rose once dry. Netzach's final form reminded me of a newly built wooden fence with small rose bushes planted in front of it.

Thanks again to ivyandpeony for the chance to try this scent! Eleggua was astonishingly similar from the imp to my skin. The dominant note is a pure white mint that clears my sinuses when I sniff the scent. There is something sweet and dry underneath, leaving the overall impression of a mint cookie. I don't smell any booze. I might be going mad from too much BPAL but, once Eleggua dries on my skin, I can swear there is a hint of pineapple at the edge of the mint. This is a lovely, vibrant scent!

Thanks to ivyandpeony for selling me this imp of Yemaya. In the imp, the scent was watery aquatic and melon. I can pick up the watermelon and cantaloupe notes. On my skin, Yemaya is pure watermelon Jolly Rancher. It is sweet and juicy but in an artificial way. Yemaya was very short-lasting and would need reapplication after an hour. I am interested in learning if it has more staying power as a room scent.

Binah was immediately a strong woody scent. The initial note was a strong, syrupy sap that I could smell in the back of my throat. This settled down on my wrist to a muted wood. I did not get any of the floral notes that others have picked up. Binah was a very neutral scent that did not particularly stand out as a perfume.

In the vial: Chokmah smelled exactly like the horrible cough syrup that my parents made me take as a child. It pretended to be cherry flavored but did not have a hint of anything remotely resembling a cherry in the taste. I debated even putting this on. On my wrist: Ugh! Still cough syrup. A spicy scent starts to mingle with the cough syrup making it slightly more palatable. Drydown: The spice remains but I can't identify a particular note. There is a second note that is pleasant and reminds me of Blood. Could it be myrrh mingled with cherry? Unfortunately, the cough syrup lurks underneath the other notes. I think that Chokmah could be beautiful for anyone who doesn't have the cough syrup association because there are some lovely notes in it.

In the bottle: Leanan Sidhe is a muted green scent intermingled with herbs. There is a light, aquatic note that actually smells like dew. On my skin: Aggghh! It's soap. Strong soap with some light florals. Luckily, this scent faded quickly so I didn't need to wash it off.

Tiphareth is a strong scent! It smelled exactly the same on my skin as it did in the bottle: heavy resins and woods. The wood is reminiscent of a forest and bark but I did not pick up any of the pine note that others have detected. The resin notes remind me of Cathedral (a scent that I adore) but they are not as crystalline. This scent has a lot of throw and is incredibly long-lasting. After nine hours, Tiphareth still smelled as if I had just applied it!

In the bottle: Santa Muerte is so sweet that I could drink the imp. It smells like a honey cake. Wet: The sweetness remains intermingled with rose. The scent of rose is very light and not at all cloying. Dry: There is a bit of a powdery element that is turning me off. However, the sweetness is so unique and tasty that I can't stop sniffing my wrists anyway. The rose has faded even further into the background. I am not smelling the slightest hint of vetiver. Santa Muerte reminds me strongly of a sweet offering cake left at death's altar. I am not sure if I can tolerate the powder enough to keep this one but I would pay good money to know what note is creating this exquisite sweetness.

In the bottle: A lovely blend of sweet pea and musk. On my wrist: The sweet pea begins to fade quickly and is replaced by a bright, green scent. It is very overpowering and makes me wrinkle my nose. Drydown: I have no idea what is producing the sharp green scent but it has eradicated the other notes of Aeval. This one was not for me

In the bottle and wet on my skin, Nocnitsa was all strong, undiluted pine. Cleanser-strength pine. After about ten minutes the pine scent starts to fade and a honeyed sweetness peeks out underneath. The moss and earth scents become more noticable and remind me strongly of Zombi and Nosferatu. The pine mingles with the earth to become a muted forest. I enjoy Nocnitsa's final form, particularly the odd sweetnes beneath the pine. However, the initial Pine-Sol scent was so overpowering that I don't think I could bear it often.

In the bottle, this was hardcore flowers and perfume. On my wrist, The Living Flame was soft, muted flowers. Definitely some rose. Nothing else that I could identify. There is an underlying sweetness that may come from the fruit notes that others have identified. I couldn't pick up on any fruit in the scent unless I was actively seeking it out. I am not a fan of floral scents but The Living Flame was sweet and light and pleasant.

Silk Road is a complex blend of spices and sweet scents. I am horrendous at picking out notes but I know that I caught a hint of saffron and an undertone of sugar. The best part about this scent is the image that it induces: a caravan carrying rare spices and sweets across the desert to another land. Silk Road has a dryness to it that speaks to deserts and sharp winds. The spices mingled together when the scent was wet and dry although the sugar beneath was constantly present. This scent is somewhat muted on my skin as it doesn't have a lot of throw. However, it does last a long time as I could still smell it faintly on my wrists at the end of the day.

In the bottle: Rich, creamy butterscotch. *drool* On my skin: The butterscotch fades almost immediately upon contact and all that remains is a sweet powdery scent. Drydown: The powder is now joined by the scent of Play-Doh. Periodically, I catch a note of something floral and sweet. I am very sad because I love butterscotch and Chaste Moon smelled so fabulous in the bottle

At first, Juke Joint smelled like booze in a sugar-rimmed glass. As it dried, I could catch periodic whiffs of light mint but the scent wouldn't stay. The booze took on a slightly musty/smoky edge that I don't enjoy although it was tempered by the sugar sweetness. After a few hours, Juke Joint lingered faintly as smoky booze with no mint and no sugar. Darn!

Initially, #20 Love Oil was all almond on my skin. As it started to dry, the almond scent faded away entirely. I caught a whiff of saffron that did not repeat itself. This oil was sharp and edgy but in a way different than any other scent that I have tried. It was odd because it was simultaneously sharp and smelled like a sweet pastry or cake. After an hour, a powdery undertone arose that is common to most of the voodoo blends that I have tried. As I already have love, this one is for the swap pile;)

At first, Venus was a strong floral. I could definitely smell some rose but also an unfortunate element that tends to smell like soap on my skin. Thus ensued a long stage of soapy, light rose. After a few hours, Venus has settled down into the pink and green sweetness that others have described. The rose is light and a bit powdery. It is mellowed by something herbal rather than floral. This ended up as a pretty, feminine scent but the unfortunate soap stage lasted too long for my tastes.

Cerberus is hard-core juniper berry on my skin. There is the faint sweet undertone of fig and something rich that may be the walnut. I don't pick up any hint of the chocolate or rum but the juniper berry is so sweet and strong that I don't care. I love it!

Belldonna smelled the same on my skin as in the vial. It is a sharp, green scent that has a richness and boldness to it. There is nothing tame or passive about this oil. In some ways it reminds me of a green (as opposed to woody or brown) version of Wolfsbane.

Strength is exactly what I expected The Lion to smell like on me. Strength was all warm fur and a hint of something sharp that was brown rather than green. I found it to be a very comforting scent. This reminded me strongly of my favorite Strength tarot card that pictures a brown-haired woman sitting with a tawny ion.

The Dark Side of Fire: cinnamon, bitter almond, and neroli. Heavily spiced, torrid, and possibly conflagrant. How on earth did I miss this one in the catalog?! I love cinnamon and I love almond. I have no particular opinion of neroli but it doesn't matter because it didn't factor into the scent at all. Inferno was a raging fireball of cinnamon and hot almond. It is almost shocking in its intensity and I found it to be a very sexy scent. Unfortunately, it faded within an hour. I guess I will have to slather it on next time and see what happens

Spooky is all chocolate and mint. I don't pick up any of the booziness and a hint of coconut fades in and out periodically. It is a warm, delicious scent. Spooky reminds me most strongly of Thin Mints and Andes Candies. I have found foody scents to be very comforting to me as room scents. So I bought an extra bottle of Spooky to keep my home smelling like mint and chocolate all year 'round

In the bottle: Storm smells of ozone with a hint of florals. On my wrist: The scents is very wet and musky but still floral. It is as though a flower shop was being drowned in a whirlpool during a hurricaine. The watery notes are very strong. Drydown: The flowers are very heavy and "perfumey." Storm reminds me of strong bath beads at this point and the water element has faded into the background of the florals. This scent is definitely not for me. On the plus side for someone else, it is very long-lasting and wouldn't require reapplication for many hours.

I desperately wanted to love the Lady of Shalott because it is one of my favorite poems and I have a framed print of one of the Waterhouse paintings hanging in my apartment. The scent was very watery and bland with a hint of unrecognizable flowers. I could not pick out any hint of ginger. I tried this blend multiple times, hoping for a change but it remained a limp aquatic scent that did not stand out for me.

The Highwayman consisted largely of vetiver and leather. It was very rich and smokey. It had the scent of sandalwood although this is not listed as an ingredient. I definitely did not smell any of the flowers or the cinnamon. This is a very masculine scent and just not me.

Aizen-Myoo is an exquisite and compelling scent. I agree with others that the scent is that of grapefruit rind. It has a combination of sweet and bitter but is dry like a rind rather than the pulp. There are a few others citrus notes in the background but they are not distinguishable. There is a faint undercurrent of tea and a hint of soemthing flowery that is likely the cherry blossom. This scent is a beautiful mix of floral and fruity as well as sweet and bitter.