sweetpessimism

In the imp and wet on skin, this is a BEAUTIFUL crisp almond. Sadly, though, the almond fades on me after a few minutes, and all I'm left with is the dark musk, and enough of a hint of myrrh to make me feel a bit sneezy. Oh, I wish this stayed the lovely almond on me! I'm not much of a fan of this musk and the bit of sneezy myrrh - so it's probably to the swap box with this one.

A beautiful blend of flowers and sweet fruits that my nose can't really differentiate between, but it likes! I was so enthusiastic about this scent, I ended up slathering it, but it turns out this is one of those scents that just needs a light touch, so I had to wash a bit off or it would be too overpowering for me. I'll have to try it out again, with a lighter application.

This starts out as delicious butterscotch on me, but it seems I'm one of those poor unfortunate souls who it turns to play-dough on.. This one's headed for the swap box.

A bounty of chocolate coins! Dry cocoa and golden amber! On me, this is an absolutely gorgeous dark cocoa! I don't really smell the amber, though it's slightly less chocolately, with maybe a teensy bit of amber peeking through, after I've been wearing it for a couple of hours. Has great staying power, though! This one makes me want to slather, it's so nummy.

I was a bit suspicious of Bat-Woman at first, as I normally shy away from florals pretty quickly, and when I opened up the decant and sniffed, my suspicion grew. But I loved the painting, and thought "What the hell, may as well," so I skin-tested it.. And I'm glad I did! My impression was "purple night-blooming flowers", and looking back at the description, I can see I was right on the nose with that! I'm SO not into florals, but THIS floral I like. It reminds me so much of the deep mystery of the night.. So if ever I get the urge for a floral, Bat-Woman is what I shall be reaching for!

Went on gorgeous, nice and cinnamony, as anticipated. Dried down to a nice sort of mixed-spice. Now an hour later, vague spice mixed with a bit of musk/woodiness, with a hint of playdoughy-ness in the background. Makes me feel a bit sneezy when sniffing, and hurts my nose a bit. Perhaps in my initial glee with the cinnamon, I slathered too much. Not as fabulous as hoped. Possibly for the swap pile, but may test it out again (with just a tiny dab) before deciding.

In the bottle: A very pale, translucent yellow. Ow - astringent stunned me for a moment there. On further inspection.. Is that lemongrass? Wet on skin: A sweet herbal-ish scent. Upon re-reading lab description: Yes, I'm getting the jasmine more now. I think that hint of lime, too - it's likely what I thought was lemongrass. On the drydown: Somewhat smoky, like incense. It's quite nice! Shoved my wrist under my mom's nose, and she said, "Smells like a rainforest." And I agree. Kind of a wet smell. My skin has definitely amped the jasmine.

In the bottle: Pale yellow color. Smell - chocolate? Mm.. Delectable. Wet on skin: Still a whiff of chocolate.. But also something a tad sharper, but still foody. For some reason "butter rum" springs to mind, though I don't know why. I have no idea how rum smells. Wait - butterbeer? Is that what my brain was going for? Butterbeer, as in from Harry Potter? Yes, I suppose this is what I imagine it would smell like. Asked my mother, and she said it smelled "very nice", and like vanilla. There is a definite vanilla note in there. Upon re-reading lab description: Aha! The cocoa I definitely smelled in the bottle. I think I'm getting more of the black palm on my skin, though. This is definitely a scent filled with sultry secrets.. It is, to say the least, intriguing! On the drydown: Slightly coconutty.. I think I'm definitely amping the black palm, though I'm not 100% sure what black palm smells like. It's just the impression I'm getting. Smells like smoky secrets! Delectable!

In the bottle: Color is a deep but transparent red. Scent.. Hmm.. It's sweet. Like cherries? Odd - I'm getting "cherries" from this. A hint of floral, deep in there. Wet on skin: More floral now, but still very sweet. Must be getting the "lotus" in it. A very thick scent. Upon re-reading lab description: Doesn't help me out in identifying notes, but does provide a beautiful image! An image I daresay I can smell.. I can see the flowers, when I sniff my wrists - deep red blossoms unfurling miraculously atop desert sand. There is a slight wistfulness to the scent.. On the drydown: Slightly powdery. I think I'm getting more of the dragon's blood now, and it's quite nice! This is a very pleasant, slightly sexy scent! It's light, but it has some body.. Perfect combination. The sweetness has died down, and it's more incense-y now. I adore this!

In the bottle: Clear color. Scent - SUGAR HIGH!!!!! Wet on skin: SUGAR! With creamyness to it - like vanilla sugar. Or, you know, marshmallows. On the drydown: Oh no! It's gone play-dough-y! There's a hint of sugar still, but.. The play-dough scent dominates. Sadness! Mom comment: "It smells soft.. Kind of sweet." When I told her the name of the perfume and that I thought it smelled like play-dough on me, she agreed there was a note of that in there, but that it "still smells marshmallowy". Alas, I don't think this works with my skin chemistry.

In the bottle: A pale, pale yellow color. Scent - light, feminine. White flowers. Wet on skin: I'm burying my nose in a unicorn's mane.. Warm, light floral. Upon re-reading lab description: Don't think I'm getting much of the herbs, but otherwise, spot on! On the drydown: Fades quite quickly on me, sadly. Still a very soft, subtle floral, though. My friend Emily said it smells like she imagines a unicorn would smell, and I agree! Wish it lasted longer, but hey - unicorns are elusive creatures!

In the bottle: Pale yellow in color. Smell.. Berry gum. And a slightly boozy note? Hmm.. Smells like strawberry daiquiri, maybe. Wet on skin: Somewhat department store-y. A very, very slight berry note underneath that. Upon re-reading lab description: Now that I think on it, I believe I detect both grapefruit and chamomile. Or is that lavender? Maybe grapefruit and lavender, then. Unsure.. On the drydown: The department store-ness has faded away. My skin is definitely amping the lavender. Lavender, with a hint of berry still there. Smells pink. Cheshire Cat behaves like its name implies - it's on strong, then fades out to just its grin. Not sure if it works very well with me, but it's a pretty nice scent. ETA: Even after it's been on my skin a couple of hours, my mom strongly objects to the scent - she says it smells like cheap department store perfume. I guess I kind of agree, though I thought it had just faded out to lavender. She disagrees.

In the bottle: A nice yellow color. Scent - FLOWERS! I can't distinguish the different flowers, but I think there's some rose. Wet on skin: Unchanged. I'm a little worried - it's a bit department store-y. This one definitely has throw. Or maybe that's because I'm wearing some on the pulse points of my neck today as well as on my left wrist. And I kind of spilled the bottle a tiny bit when I opened it. On the drydown: I'm kind of disappointed. I thought this would be a nice, sweet scent, but it's just unpleasant. My skin has amped whatever it is that reminds me of cheap department store perfume.

In the bottle: Clear. Oh - smells sharp. Wait. Is that.. carrots? Wet on skin: Lettuce?! What the hell? This definitely smells like lettuce. In a bad way. Oh, god, I hope this morphs. On the drydown: Smells kind of like baby powder. I'm not all that fond of this one. It's just.. off on my skin.

In the bottle: Pale amber in color. Slightly herbal.. For a moment I thought I caught the same lettuce-y smell I got from Hurricane, but then it vanished. Wet on skin: Oh, this one's strong. Some sharp herb.. Maybe mint in there somewhere. Somewhat like basil, maybe, but sharper. More pungent. Hmm.. Dark clouds. Crackling with almost-lightning. This is more what I expected out of Hurricane. Upon re-reading lab description: Hm, that doesn't help a whole lot. I don't smell any of the plum.. It's quieting down now, and I'm glad - I was a bit alarmed at how strong it was when I first put it on. Mom comment: "That's a nice one. Smells foresty. What's that one called?" "Oya. She's a goddess of storms and such." "Mm. Yes, smells like a forest after a storm." On the drydown: It's pretty nice. Slightly leafy and slightly spicy. With some stormy tumult in there as well.. ETA: Over the course of a few hours, Oya eventually faded out to a pleasant pine.. Not too shabby! This scent definitely has the changeability of a weather goddess!