vyvyan

Wet, this is exactly what I hoped it wouldn't be: buttery, buttery pumpkin. Yeek. Sniffing it in the imp is making me a little queasy, but I soldier onwards and put it on my arm. After about half an hour, this dries down and the woods come out a bit, but the overall scent is one of warm, slightly smoky pumpkin. It's not turning my stomach any more, but it's not really what I'd hoped for (outdoors with a hint of pumpkin) either. It's not *bad* it's just much foodier than I like wearing, even when dry. Now it's smelling vaguely like coffee. My chemistry is a w1nnar. Oi. Off to swaps with you, my litle precious - somebody else will not have skin of pumpkin doom.

I traded for this imp from swaps, but wasn't sure if I'd like it because of the poppy--usually I hate florals, and things with any flowers in them are a warning sign. But Vechernyaya and I have been having a love affair since I first put it on. It's a very stable scent, on me, and doesn't change much from wet to drydown - mostly white musk, warmed by a bit of poppy, with the patchouli as an almost-invisible base layer. The white musk really is the strongest part of this, but the poppy adds a slight edge to it. Definitely a feminine scent, on me, but not "girly" in the slightest: 100% buttoned-up beautiful in-charge *woman*. As some others have noted, it's a very *refined* scent. I'm relatively young, and I teach, so I wear this when I know I'll be facing a particularly difficult day in the classroom, or meeting with difficult students--basically, any time when I know I'm going to need to come off as strong and in charge. It lasts *all day* and gives me a wonderful pick-me-up when I smell it; it acts as a reminder to me that yes, I can be grown up, but I can do it *my way*. It's classic enough to be acceptable while also just edgy enough to be individual. As soon as possible, there's going to be a big bottle order of this - no question.

Ah, woe. I was so hoping to like this, as so many people seem to have done, but alas, it was not to be. In the imp, this smells fresh and fruity and yellow-green, but once it hits my skin it picks up a charming note reminiscent of days when I have let the cat's box go too long between cleanings. Oh, chemistry, why do we have to do this to each other? That note lasts all through drydown - and this is a strong blend, on me! - and on for a good hour or two. Afterwards it seems to fade, but the damage is pretty much done, by that point, and I'll admit I wasn't sniffing regularly to check if it had stopped. FWIW, I've never had another blend smell like that on me. Since it works so well on so many other folks, I will have no compunction about swapping it off to a home where it'll be loved and adored as it should, without my skin getting in the way.

Oh, my word. I ordered 2 bottles of this (Samhain 2005) when it came online, and while I was waiting for it to ship I questioned that *so* many times. Apples and I don't get along - any fruit is a problem, really, but the Hesperides was like sugary juice poured over me, Verdandi was like a Yankee candle, and Harvest Moon 2005 was way too sweet. But this? This is *perfect*. The woods and fir aren't prominent on me; they provide a base and ground it enough to keep it from being foody. As it dries, the apple wafts up toward me, and the spices - it smells like cider but *not*, like mulled cider drunk out of doors, simultaneously sweet and dark. I can see why everybody says this is *the* scent of fall. I'm glad I've got my bottles - I'm going to stash one away, and enjoy the other one all through the fall and winter! Edit: throw is great - I'm washing the dishes and keep catching hints of it, and I only put a little to test on my elbow!

Mmmm! I had such hopes for this one, as it's my birth moon -- when the description went up, my gut said "you will love this," and my gut was right! On me, this is a lovely musk (maybe red musk?), with a bit of cinnamon but not much and not foody at *all*, and grains. Spicy, strong, and warm. It went through a period where it smelled rather like Fenris Wolf on me (and that's a good thing), but the grains and the spice have come out more prominently. It hangs pretty close to the skin, but it's strong there. This is *the* scent for cold autumn evenings, walking in woods with the moon above you shrouded in clouds, crunching dead leaves underfoot, a shiver up your back and a dangerous smile. It doesn't *smell* like those woods, but it smells perfect *for* them. They're going to have to pry Blood Moon out of my cold, dead hands.

Second the Dorian. When I'm having a crap time of it, Dorian makes me feel cozy and comforted. I had to get a big bottle, just for that effect. Best of luck!

Lucy's Kiss goes on entirely rose. I'm crap at picking out rose blends, but it reminds me of a tea rose oil I used to have as a girl. As it dries, a bit of spice comes out, but this is still an overwhelmingly rose scent. Slightly dry, but still fresh, this is delicate and lovely. After about an hour or so, the rose has faded a bit more, and balances more evenly with the spices. I'm not sure how often I'm going to use this, but I think I'll keep the imp.

Vixen is pretty but ultimately disappointing, for me. Some people complained, on the Ravenous thread, of not finding Ravenous *enough* after Vixen (b/c it's missing the ginger); I loved Ravenous first, and I think against that Vixen seems comparatively light. Lovely, but not loud.

Florals generally don't like me all that much and I really don't like them, so this was an iffy proposition to start with. Then I put it on and - just, not so great with the skin thing. It actually *smelled* *grey*. I don't know how better to describe it. I'm sure this is beautiful on someone else, so I've traded it off to someone who'll appreciate it more. Still, glad I got to try it!

Smells warm, soft; I can catch the leather, and what I suspect is the tobacco. A little bit of incense is tickling my nose in the verrry back. This is a warmer, slightly lighter scent than I was expecting from the description. Lovely, but not as me as I thought it would be.

I'd go with Perversion or Torture King - Severin, on me, wasn't particularly perverse. Though I do feel compelled to add, Torture King is the answer to all questions involving it. Ever. Happy Rockying!

Seraglio goes on pure almond. After half an hour, though, I'm really not smelling almond any more – lovely spices with a thin edge of soap. Soap? No rose? Oops. Perhaps this is not meant for me!

I'm writing this review offline, and I don't have the scent description handy to check, so let's see how I do blind! I was totally wary of this, 'cause usually I hate foody scents, but – I smell like Christmas! I smell what I always *want* Christmas to smell like! I get a spicy orange scent, kind of reminiscent of those orange spice herbal teas, with a lot of pep to it; beyond that, there's a nice blend of spices with a bit of an edge to them (ginger or clove?), and it's so, so good. After the initial wet phase, the drydown is very stable. Don't *think* I'm going to get a bottle, but I'll definitely be using the imp heavily come December. Online edit - spicy must've been the clove; didn't get the peach at all, for which I sing praises, 'cause peach and I do not get along. This lasted for*ever*, with a pretty good throw, and smelled like Christmas each time I got a whiff. Love!

Black Lotus goes on like bubblegum, but as it dries it calms down and the spices come out. This is definitely a wet, lush spice - nothing dry about this blend! The word "heady" could describe it, fo' sho'. It doesn't last long on me – couple hours, maybe. It's very nice, but not amazing, and a little *much* for me.

Shroud smells like dry white flowers, faintly. There's maybe a bit of wood there, and the flowers are a little spicy, but the overall effect is dry dry dry. Hard to describe this! I like it, but I don't love it - it's too muted, or something, for me. Off to someone who will adore it.

Gift imp from the lab - I probably wouldn't have ordered this ("geological? whaa?"), and that's a sad, sad thing. Wet - vanilla, maybe a little coconut and something a little sharp. I'm not great at picking out notes, but there's an edge to this scent. The vanilla isn't foody at *all* - I dislike foody scents with passion, and I'm loving this. As it dries, it softens a bit more - the edge fades, but stays present; this is vanilla with a dark underlayer. Sweet without being innocent, sexy but not actively sultry, this is subtle and gorgeous. Soft, soft, soft, and not much throw. I think I may need a big bottle of this, and I may also have to make myself some lotion, to keep this scent around longer. Thank you, lab! Edited - actually, this stuck around a surprisingly long time, for as soft a scent as it is. Impressive!

Wet, on my skin, this was almost all wine. Oddly sweet and burgundy-colored. I wasn't thrilled, because I'm not a big fan of wine notes and was hoping for something else, but then it starts to dry. In the drydown, the wine starts to move to the background, and the smokier notes come out. Actually, yesterday, when I first tested this, it was mostly smoke and leather and a little something warm and a little something green, and I *liked* it. Today, it's equal parts wine-warm and smoke. The green and the leather don't come through as much. Oh, that wacky skin chemistry of mine - I'm sad, b/c I liked it better yesterday. As it is, I'll probably finish the imp (lovely for fall), but it's coming off the big bottle list. Lasts a few hours on me, medium throw.

This was really floral on me. I didn't really get any of the tea or cedar - just pretty, light flowers. It's a little bit of a "green" floral, but not as much of one as Phantom Queen. Beautiful, but not something I'd wear.

This perfume comes out "separate but equal" on me. On the one side of the fence, we have the sage/sweet pea, creating a very pretty, soft "light green" blend; on the other, there's the tonka. They don't mix, they don't mingle, they just kind of - sit there. Also, now that I know tonka to identify it, I'm not a fan. Not for me, alas. But it's already off to someone who will love it more!

Oh, God. I hadn't planned on getting a second bottle of anything. But I don't know what I'll do if I have to face a life with only a limited supply of this. I don't know what it *is* but Torture King has totally smacked me over the head and made me fall in love. The scent dries down to this very *crisp* leather and incense blend that still has something warm hiding in the background; there's not much booze, just this crisp, outdoorsy incense smell. I'm sorry - I can't really describe it. I just know I've been sitting here with my nose *plastered* to my arm for the last half hour, inhaling. Very very masculine scent, on me, but I'm not particularly girly and I will wear the King and LOVE HIM.

Well, this is lovely. Snake Charmer dries down on my skin to a gorgeous, soft scent - I can pick up the vanilla and amber, so it's sweet, but not *too* sweet; the spices keep it nicely balanced. There may be a hint of plum lingering about the edges, but not much - I'm not usually a big fan of plum, so that's just about perfect, as far as I'm concerned. In my head, this is a goldy-bronze-y color with a hint of a dusky purple color. Definitely keeping this bottle!!

This went on really spicy & patchouli, but the orange came out pretty quickly & the two scents blended into this lovely, warm, oh-so-slightly-sweet, spicy mix. Beautiful! Not for everyday or for work, but *definitely* could see wearing it on fall afternoons or evenings. My friend who was visiting this afternoon said, during the early stages, "animalistic, but in a good way." Don't know about a big bottle, but I'll use up the imp, you better believe it.

Goes on very spicy, *very* dark. Mellows slightly during the drydown, but not a whole lot - it's staying really really dark on me. I like my scents more in the "medium to medium-dark" range, so no go on this one, but I can definitely appreciate the complexity - someone who loves woods and patchouli will adore this!

This one seems to me "peach at the edge of a forest, in the dappled leaf-shadows." And scents don't usually move me to tortured metaphor, so, yeah. It's rather lovely - has a soft, sweet fruitiness to it that lingers around the upper ranges, but is nicely balanced by the musk and the oakmoss. It's not a *rounded* scent, I wouldn't say, but it does mix deeper notes with lighter ones in a lovely manner. I like this one much, much better than Tamora. I'm not sure if I'll buy a bottle, because it doesn't seem 100% *me*, but I'm definitely keeping my imp.

It's a sweet aquatic, with just a *tiny* bit of ozone bite. It's not rain, to me, but definitely freshwater with the light reflecting off it at midmorning, surrounded by flowers. They're very *subtle* flowers, though, so people who don't like florals (and I'm one) shouldn't be scared away. Not sure if I'm going to buy a bottle, but I'm certainly going to use the imp, especially in the really hot days of summer, when I need a little coolness and tranquility.