zankoku_zen

Woody, spicy, resinous. This definitely has cassia, a hit of cedar and something that smells dry spicy - either ginger or carnation. Not my type of blend at all, but all those spice/resin fans should check it out.

On wet, I definitely get a hit of fruit, something tropical like mango, and a taste of apple but that maybe from the rose itself (like in Rose Red blends). As it dries, the rose is very powdery and sour... and I'd swear there was a hint of tuberose in the background. After an hour, it's not sour and more of a full bloom rose in there. There's still that bit of fruityness that lingers. Not a rose fan, but if you are, give this a whirl.

Holy crap! There's a giant blast of lilies on wet. It dries to a more golden resin blend (definitely the frankincense and musk) with just a whiff of lily florals. Not my type of blend, but if you like resins with a hint of white florals, give this a whirl.

This one started out as dusty, slightly sour rose powder. But as it dried, the musk came out, the sourness dropped off and it was more of a dark, slinky powder. The powder is probably either from the sandalwood or violet (violet being the most likely culpit). It's the baby powder that Marilyn Monroe uses. You know, it's not BABY powder. It's more like LADY SEX powder. From the reviews, I can see that this is a hard blend for some skin chemistries to pull off, mine included. But I can also see this as being lovely if it doesn't go to powder.

I definitely got buttery crust and pie filling. It sort of reminded me to Crumpet Rebellion with the buttery pastry thing going on, but it dried alot more to Blackberry Jams & Scones. The berries are very sweet in this, syrupy. If you like sweet pastry blends, give this a whirl. If you haven't been able to get your hands on CR, I'd give this a try as they are very much in the same vein.

On wet, I get the Snake Oil/Snake Charmer vibe best with giant blast of red musk, but as ti dries, I get the lavender, amber and hints of sandalwood. It's definitely a kissing cousin to Snake Charmer, but on me it wasn't as heavy as say Panther Moon was. Dark, sultry, femme fatale sort of blend. If you like Snake Oil/Snake Charmer, give this a whirl. SO and I haven't always gotten along, and it is best behaved in this blend.

Okay, I definitely got something that smelled like bananas on wet and then quickly moved to something fruity and sweet, albeit somewhat generic. As it further dries, I finally get the whiffs of vanilla, candy and berries. Very girly, very sweet. I would definitely find this appropriate for a young girl. It sort of reminds me to Strawberry Shortcake dolls.

On wet, I am surprised how 'powdery' and 'sour' on me this is - I think its a combination of orris and ambergris. As it dries, the sugar and chamomile have a chance to come out. It's much more pleasant after about an hour. There's something slightly fuzzy about this blend.

Mmm. On wet, I get a blast of the same cool minty snow note that is in Ded Moroz, and reminds me alot to Skadi actually since I get sweet mint and a blast of pine. As it dries, I get hints of vanilla and almond. As opposed to released version, which I invariably get a metric ton of coconut that blasts whatever notes there may be into a sort of tropical suntan lotion oblivion, I find the prototype version to be sweet, icy and deliciously memorable. Strong vanilla/with a fair bit of almond on dry. No melon for me, but yes, perhaps some birch underneath? Lovely. Perhaps a tad too sweet for me, but definitely something very wearable. And covetable.

White floral with a hint of fruit. On wet, I really think this has a fair bit of plumeria because it had that rich, juicy floral sweetness that I tend to associate with plumeria. As it dries, it takes on a more 'ethereal' and 'wispy' quality that reminds me alot to Empyreal Mist. There is something green in the background, lurking.

I definitely get a bit hit of lemongrass on wet, and then it dries to this dusty, dirty patchouli and fig thing. Kinda furry actually. I'm sure part of that 'dirt' is coming from the sage, which isn't a note I tend to get along with. Very apropos, since well, it smells of a dark, furry, dirty little creature. Ah well.

If I found a man that smelled like this, I would let him do any manner of unspeakable things to me. No joke. Needless to say, this blend is a slightly aquatic, musky, VERY masculine blend. And masculine not in the "leather dominant" or "puffed up on testosterone" or even "urban sophisticated" type of guy. This is a guy that you know is a guy, that you know likes getting naked, who isn't an asshole but isn't completely nice either. The musk is warm, I get the slightest touch of ozone. But in general, I can't get over how gorgeous this is. I am totally slathering mr. zee_zee in this when I get home, and hopefully his skin chemistry will cooperate and he'll smell as delicious as my wrist does. Because this is what all men should smell like, at least in my world. ETA: Sadly, this does not smell nearly as awesome with mr. zee_zee's skin chemistry as it does with mine.

Oleander + Honey. The oleander is strong, floral and I'll have to say that oleander smells to me what magnolia should smell like (except magnolia and I have ISSUES). It's a creamy, white heady floral. In a way, the vibe is along the lines of Black Butterfly Moon or Black Dahlia (obviously less complex) + honey. It's got that heavy floral, slightly darker feel to it.

I think there's lilac, hyacinth and something warm. Either vanilla or honey musk. On wet, its floral but as it dries it is very creamy, sweet and with a warm musk base. Hmmm, much more enjoyable than I originally anticipated.

Strong jasmine + honey. If you can do either of these notes, then try it out. As neither of these is a fave of mine, I think I'll just pass this along to a better home. Admittedly, the jessamine is not cat-pee jasmine. It's the jasmine I smell whenever I smell fresh jasmine, heady and floral with a touch of green.

This one is interesting - its got a green, tomato plantish vibe esp. on wet. It dries to a green honey. Interesting.

Mentholic male cologne with a touch of leather. It dries to a very expensive masculine soap on me. Clean, male, soapy.

Green grass, lilies. And probably some moonflower and jasmine. It's very floral and powdery on wet, but as it dries, it dries to a very watery soapy floral. It's very soothing scent wise. I'll edit this post with the effects later.

This one reminds me to a more summery Snow White. Cool coconut, brush of tropical lush florals. It's a little too coconutty for me, but I am not a coconut fun and even I'm delighted at how pretty this is.

This is a soft masculine amber musk. I get loads of musk (same note as in Left His Nurse) but with amber and DBR, striking a warm amber. Tiny whiff of lavender. Hmmm, I think mr. zee_zee might have to try this one on.

Sour sour rose. It smells like nail polish remover on me. PASS.

This one is not something I expected. I guess I thought it would be sleazier? On me, it's got a faint and plasticky chocolate overtone, skin musk and just... well, smells like plastic. Pass.

This Saturnian herb possesses a deep mossy scent that, when crushed, emits a vapor redolent of woody oranges. Woody, slightly orangey musk. Very masculine. I was hoping for a lighter scent, but the catnip is ominous. It probably the catnip that the Yule Cat likes to frolick around. Instead of mellowing him out, it's like an HP potion, except for its evilness. Yes, this is the catnip for evil kittehs.

Strong fruit booze plus honey. As it dries it becomes much more honey dominated except this isn't the kind of honey that works for me. Oddly enough, it reminds me to O minus the amber.

Again, another darker blend - but less bruising than Mr. Vandemar. There is a musky resinous base, a touch of something light (could that be you porcelain?), and the benzoin adds a little sweetness to the blend. Not to say that this isn't masculine, but it's less brutish than Mr. Vandemar. Perfect for Mr. Croup.