Seraph

Oh. My. Sweet. Clover. At first this one is... strong... violent and cruel, but as it dries down it finds its mark, it finds its stride and the Torture King settles into a punishment that's firm but loving. Oh, the love is so there with his possessive embrace and subtle domineering nature. His constant presence is there to remind you that He is in control of your soul now and you have no will to resist Him. Think... Dorian... with a Masterful skill of punishing Domination. Will I bow to the Torture King's command? Oh, I will... I will... with shudders of ecstasy. Ahem. Sorry. Smoky citrus and leather. Dorian dressed up in leather and all set for a long hot night of blissful torment...

Daughter of Pan and Echo and dear friend to Demeter. When Demeter was mourning the abduction of her daughter, Iambe was the only creature in heaven and earth that was able to lend cheer and laughter to the grieving mother. Her scent is one of comfort, beauty and joy: Sudanese amber, patchouli, rose, gardenia, gladiola and white tea. First waft : Ewe. Smells like someone tried to cover dog poo with flowers. The flower part is pretty but there's something nasty lurking below it. First on : Ewe... vile, evil, nasty. After 20 or so minutes : Oooooh, hey, that's not so bad after all. It's warming up a bit, still on the strong side and ewe don't sniff it too close. An hour or so later : Heeeeey, this isn't so bad once it warms up nice and proper. Tea and vague hints of floral. Smells like a tea party on my arm. verdict : I love this one when I'm out in 93+ degree temps with a heat index and humidity level that makes it feel much hotter. As long as I am hot and sweating and just... HOT... this one is beautiful. Unfortunately, I can't always be that hot. When I'm cold it smells wretched. It's a little sad because when I'm hot, it really is a beautiful scent. I just can't tolerate the smell of it when I'm not hot enough to make it blossom.

first waft : heavy perfumey cleanser, bitter overtones first on : WOW that's got a sharp little kick 5 minutes later : oooooo... jasmine with a bite! 1 hours later : Can't decide if this is spicy with a kiss of floral or flora with a bite of spice. It brings to mind the image of a deep south (maybe even New Orleans?) antebellum style house way back in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by acres of swampish wooded lands (...there was a Chevy Chase movie where he inherited this house...) and on the porch of this house is a rocking chair... and a glass pitcher of iced tea nearby... and the heady scent of jasmine wafts by on a hot breeze but that breeze also carries other aromas, vague florals and something spicy from somewhere way off in the distance that only barely got caught by the wind.... verdict : I like it. I'm not sure I like it enough to buy a bottle of it, but I like it enough to keep an imp around, maybe buy another imp later if the one I have runs too low. ========= random notes : wore this one out one in the wonderful summer heat while we were shopping, in some stores but mostly riding around in the hot car. It didn't seem to waft too well in the sense that people around me could smell it, but it dawdled around behind me as I moved. People I would pass would sniff the air and look around in confusion for something that should smell like jasmine after I'd moved about 5 feet away from them. Different temps or even a constant temp might have the waftability shifting some.

first waft : rotting sweet flowers first on : very strong rotting sweet flowers a little later : Little Miss says it smells like pine (I think she's picking up the balsam) but it still smells more floral to me, but a vagueish sort floral that I really can't really identify but is just entirely too... weird... to be more than vaguely pleasant. still later : this scent is really starting to creep me out, but I can't say why. Maybe it's the myrrh? Myrrh has always done weird things to me. What I'm smelling is kind of incensy but in a floralish sort of way. Very unsettling emotionally and yet soothing... no, not soothing. Lulling. Like I'm being coaxed into something that I know is dangerous and yet I have no will to stop myself. verdict : eh. It was ok, but... umm... no. It goes on my EWE list only because of the surrealism of sensations that it triggered. ========= random notes : tried this on during a time when it was warmish but not overly hot, inside, raining outside, windows up and AC off. Doing paperwork so there wasn't much call for my body to be heating this one up. Kept getting... weird... feelings with this one. Everything kept slipping towards... hazy, distant, surreal. My focus became very, very fragmented and it took very nearly all my effort to keep from just hunkering down and letting my mind and soul drift where they would. Coupled with the patter of rain... wow... I'm not sure I didn't slip off to somewhere else for a bit even though I know that I was awake the entire time. This would be a great one to have around for those days when I want to forget the world and slip into a deep meditative state.

first waft - musky but light, hint of vanilla and... something. first on - is that lavender and vanilla? Hints of citrus. later - pure yum. Kind of citrusy, kind of vanillaish, kind of musky, yet none of those things really. It brings to mind that strange lavender tea I used to sweeten with vanilla sugar with the slightest spritz of lemon. Everything blends and meshes and swirls around, teasing and tempting. It's a prim scent that hints of sex to come -- but not in an animalistic rutting sort of way, more of a fine wine, candlelight, linens, roses and skillful tantric lover sort of way. Verdict - I love it. The Little Miss loves it. The Mister likes it a lot (even if he does say it reminds him of those lemon cookies my grandfather gets from the cheapcheapcheap discount grocery store) and might be convinced to wear it willingly (he "accidentally" got swiped with it and it smells delish on him). Must buy more. Lots more.

First waft: "Ewe...yuck! I've smelled car oils that smell better... ugh... " First on: "Ok... this is better..." As soon as it hit my skin it turned floral..ish... with a dark kind of undertone that I can't really place. Nice, though. After one hour: "..... why the hell am I wearing lavender scented baby powder??" Luckily it didn't last much longer than the that first hour. Verdict: Ugh. The Mister likes it. "It smells nice." It certainly won't be something I reach for very often, but it's not something I'm inclined to run screaming from.

Compelling, complex, and utterly enigmatic: a luxuriant, exotic blend of cherry, red musk, and star anise. first waft: pretty, kind of sweet first on: EWE!! Pure black licorice. Wow, that anise is wicked... in an evil sort of way. one hour later: Licorice to heavy incense. It smells... holy. Vague tingles of a memory involving myrrh. It reminds me a lot of an old Italian woman I used to know. She spent a lot of time at church. later: ayup, still there. It just won't go away... verdict: Ugh. I hate to say it, but no, I don't think I like this one. The Mister didn't like it either. --------- random notes: another one tried during my moon week and on a cold, wet night. I should retry it at a different time of the month and under different conditions. --------- [edited my orginal review in my LJ : 06/27/05] Retried Kabuki today and ohsweetmother that was wretched. It was pure licorice... well... except for that burning plastic undertone. Wow. I think Kabuki will be my first ever imp offered up to the public. Anise and I do not get along well at all.

first waft: "Oh, that's nice." Kind of spicy and kind of floral, yet not either of them. A hint of something resiny? first on: "Wh...wh....WHY?!?!? VILEWRETCHEDEEEEWE!!" (and still I kept it on... hopeful...) first hour: went through a nasty soap smell phase, along with some really wretched phases, and now in a more floral but not really phase. Each chemical shift triggers migraine type pain in the brain. few more hours: "....my head is going to explode...." verdict: Yeah, it was nice in the vial but it just didn't work for me.

First waft: Very pretty. Very, very sweet. Definitely a "girl" scent. First on: CHEMICAL SHIFT!! From almost too sweet to almost bitter in the swipe of a scent. Pretty sharp, but with a clean tone hovering nearby. At one hour: Wow. Talk about a transformation. Now very faint, very delicate. In this stage it's something that a princess would be wearing as she sat looking all prim and proper and regal. Somehow Beth has learned what womanly innocence smells like, mixed it with a dash of regalness and wisdom, thrown in some purity for good measure (and probably gently stirred it all with the feather from an angel) and bottled it, calling the blend "Blue Moon". At two hours: All but gone, and yet everytime I think it is gone I get a whiff of it. It's still very delicate, still very... pristine... and elusive. Verdict: I like it. The Mister likes it. The Little Miss likes it (she likes everything but Kabuki LOL). This is the one I would reach for when I had to dress up and be the Lady of the Manor, when diplomacy and regalness are demanded and being the perfect Lady is a necessity. Not a head-over-heels-be-still-my-heart favorite, but certainly one I'd like to get a little more of.

(garnered from prowling)Limited Edition, available in Nov 2004 for Yule Wafted from the bottle: Vanilla and cherries? "What the hell is that?? French toast???" First on: "Mercy sweet mother, I smell like french toast. Very rich, very decadent french toast. Great, now I'm hungry..." (Little Miss came poking her head in from the other room "Who's eating french toast and not sharing??") The cherry scent that I pick up from the wafting isn't very prominent on me. It's more of a rich, almost buttery scent that lingers all about me. I feel like I've been spending waaaay too much time at IHOP. [side note : on Little Miss, the cherry is ALL you smell for the first five or ten minutes, then it transforms into the "french toast" aroma] One hour later: Still quite yummy, still french toasty but seeming to mellow some. The buttery scent has faded some, becoming lighter. It almost (but not quite) smells like warmed and buttered maple syrup. It hints of that. It's not what I expected (or hoped for) from this blend, but it's still warm and homey. Two hours later: It's still mellowing and taking its sweet time about it too. See one hour notes, and turn down the "volume" some. Few more hours: Ah. There's the cherry tobacco I was hoping for. Very mellow. Very subtle. Vaguely smoky with traces of warmed cherries with just a hint of vanilla. Very worth the several hours of smelling like french toast. [side note : it never really reached this stage with Little Miss that I am aware of] Verdict: I love it. Little Miss loves it beyond words. The Mr. hates it. Oh well, I guess he'll have to learn to live with it. Little Miss begs for it. Not sure I'd get into a bidding war for it, but I have been snatching up reasonably priced imps (and a partial 5mL) of it when I can. I wouldn't be above begging for this one on behalf of Little Miss either. She loves it far more than I do, but I do love it. This one will most certainly be on the Lust List. random notes: Tried this on one of those days when I was in and out. First stage was indoors, AC at roughly 73-75. Later I was outside in 90someodd degree temps. I think if I wore this one in higher temps it would burn off that french toast smell faster. The vanilla tainted cherry tobacco aroma towards the end would be a nice room scent, especially in the winter on days that I'm not baking.

Wafted from the bottle: Bubble gummy cotton candy. First on: Woah. Flowers. Lots and lots and lots of flowers. Not... icky flowers though. Not bad. The sweetness from the bubblegummy/cotton candy smell is still there, but it's almost completely lost in the flowers. Few hours later: Still sweet, still flowery but becoming more vague. Few more hours: It's become a light and delicate bouquet of tulips with... something. I'm not sure which flower or combination of flowers that is. It might be the daffodil. I'm also picking up traces of the bubble gum scent again. It's almost as if the florals and that sweetness can't decide which will burn off me first; one minute it's all floral, the next it's almost pure bubble gum. Verdict: I like it. Little Miss likes it. The Mr. likes it ("That's nice."). I don't think I'd get into a bidding war for more, but I wouldn't mind having more of it. Especially with Little Miss around. random notes: Tried this on an indoor AC day - temp approx 75F and not enough movement to rev up my body temp. Considering how it was almost pure sugar on the Little Miss (she runs hotter than I do), I think this one will explode into a bubble gummy cotton candy fest on me if I wear it in the heat.

This is what it smells like to me: First waft: Earthy. Vague tingles of memories of hiking through moss overgrown areas where old fallen trees are decaying. Mercy how I love that smell. Very earthy indeed. First on: Very mossy. Then out of nowhere... WOW. Patchouli and... what IS that?? It's a... clean... scent. Makes me think of sun dried laundry or a quiet sun filled glade. And yet, amidst that brilliant green sunny spot you can smell the decaying vegetation lurking underneath and in the shadows of the forest all around. The combination is intoxicating. Little later: Is that a hint of something spicy I'm picking up? And maybe a hint of floral? I wish I knew what heliotrope smelled like. My mind screams "floral!!" whenever I think of it. I'll have to verify that. Still later (roughly 3 hours from first application): It's morphed into something more mellow yet still earthy with faint traces of something that reminds me of pine. And there's a light dusting of something floral there, but I haven't a clue what it is. The patchouli is still there, but it's not as prominent. Still more later (roughly 13 hours from first application): It's almost gone now, barely hanging on by a thread and it's clean. Subtle, but clean. It reminds me very vaguely of the woods after a spring shower: gentle with hints of flowers you could hunt for and never find. Even with the floral notes coming through, it's still rather masculine with the earthy scent hovering just under it all. Next morning: It's still there... lingering like an attentive lover. Subtle but ever near. Just when I think it's gone I catch a whiff of it. Verdict: Definitely one of the more masculine scents I've come across so far. I think I like this one for me. Little Miss likes it on me. The Mr. likes it ("That's nice"). I don't think this will be on my Lust List, but I do think it will find a place on my Like It List.