zankoku_zen

Again, very tropical and very summery/beach appropriate. I get, esp. on wet, whiffs of coconut but on the drydown it is all but subsumed under a sweet, tropical, floral - which I do think is plumeria - as I've seen plumeria do this on me. There is, indeed a slight smoky warmness to this, which is definitely coming from amber, underneath the floral. Very pretty, very feminine. Sticks close to the skin. Low/moderate throw on me, but this is the type of scent that sticks around on my skin.

This one is a light floral. I think it has lily in it, and possibly camellia. It's sweet, soft and dreamy. Definitely more of a white floral. Perhaps a tad too sweet for me.

Fresh, fiery ginger. To me it has a slight effervescence - and its more like the ginger you find in ginger beer as opposed to ginger ale. It definitely mellows as it dries, and while I wouldn't wear this just by itself because it makes me think of ginger beer/ale goodness and sets off major cravings, it is definitely ginger.

This to me has coconut and lilac. Which make it two of my death notes. The coconut is soft and watery, which complements the lilac. There is something floral sweet here, and I wouldn't immediately guess honeysuckle. As it dries, it tends toward the creamy. In some ways, this makes me think of an early version of Shango because of the watery coconut/creaminess (reminiscent to shea, but without it actually smelling like shea). Pretty, soothing. It's very 'beach' in mind. ETA: I think the decant and the bottle smell different because I am really getting on wet the cinnamon and what smells like dragon's blood resin. It's spicy and then it starts turning watery as it dries, and I get other floral notes like either lilac or honeysuckle. I can still smell what I'm dubbing the DBR because it smells like DBR to me. The vibe is totally New Orleans.

Pomegranate SN is a sweet, tart, juicy fruit. I'd almost say musky on wet. And as it dries, it just becomes more of a red currant/tart fruit. I really like it on the drydown. Mmmm. Tasty.

Carnation SN on wet to me is very different as opposed to the drydown. On wet, it is spicy carnations along with the sappy green stem. As it dries, I get a slight powdery funk from it. About two hours later though, I get a tiny floral whiff of carnation, non spicy, and just very demure.

White Chocolate and Strawberries --- and wow, not fake. There's a tiny trace of plastic, but the white pepper keeps it from being too sweet and plastic, smelling. It's still a little on the sweet side - but it does smell like strawberries and cream.

Jasmine SN is ---- big, luscious nightblooming jasmine. Sultry and with a HUGE throw. It's the same jasmine note as in Noir. And uhhh... it sort of smells like cat pee on me. No surprise there.

Oh god, this is sexy. It's a very clean, metal blend. I amp up the cologne and it ends up very manly on me. But uhh... what a man! I am off to slather this on mr. zee_zee and if it smells anything like it does on me, I foresee a bottle in his future. ETA: The prototype of Mr. Qubit is slightly different - not so much metal and definitely more of a traditional cologne. On the extreme drydown I swear there is either some suede or leather in this. It's what I'd consider a very professional urban male to wear.

This is so odd - the wasabi, petitgrain and coconut end up smelling at least on wet, very much like lettuce, pickles and a dollop of citrusy white flowers. I kid you not, I do get a very watery aquatic feel from this on wet, but as it dries it becomes more floral and spicy. This so didn't work out with my skin chemistry.

LEMONGRASS! This is a huge hit of citron on wet, and then I get a ton of creamy lemongrass. In fact, it makes me think of thai food with creamy coconut and lemongrass and I really can't shake the coconut reference. Very tasty, very savory. Very hunger inducing.

This one just smells fake on me. It's got this mineral, powdery floral - the orris is often problematic, and here it is a white pitched wail that is just grating. Yes, crystalized violets, dusty vanilla and it ends up being a shrill, fake, dusty vaguely mineral blend. Made.of.lose

Okay, so on wet I definitely got buttery cake dough and a hint of bergamot. It dried to something much yummier... and stranger. The vanilla cake aspect calmed down, and I get whiffs of aquatic cucumber every now and then. I am very pleasantly surprised by this one. My only concern is that every once in a while I get a whiff of something 'plasticky', which could just be the type of vanilla we're talking about. Unfortunately, my skin eats this right up.

Okay, so I can definitely smell the sweet corn on wet (like the type of smell you get when you husk it) but on my skin this changes into an almost fruity pear sweetness. I kid you not - sort of like a greener and less vanilla Symmakhia. It dries to a more malty barley blend, with that overlay of slight fruity pear sweetness but definitely veering into the cooked corned smell now. Odd, but pleasant. Quite enjoyable actually. My only problem is the low throw and low wear length of this. One hour later and its almost gone.

Dark, bitter woods. I get pine, a manly cologne and something that is obnoxiously chemical. And yes, as it dries, I get a peek of the sunflower but its very faint. Remains highly astringent, dark creeping weeds and mutated trees. You know there is something not quite right in this place....

Rich polished woods, a whiff of smoke and a giant hit of manly cologne on wet. As it dries, its definitely more of a polished woods blend. Very manly, very sophisticated. Low throw on me, and my skin literally eats this up. Pass.

Odd. This starts out as superfresh peppermint, but then with the violet mixed in and starting to amp up during the drydown, combined with sage - this ends up smelling powdery and oddly smelling like b.o. Made.of.lose

I definitely get lots of cassia and frankincense on wet. As it dries, it sweetens up and it's more a cassia/sugar combination with the frankincense serving as a base. Resinous, it has this creamy/custard like vibe that puts me in mind of flan. Yes. Flan. Spanish custard pudding. Mmmm.

I definitely get the bluebells on wet, and yes, sort of reminds me to Host of Air minus the lilies. As it dries, I get other florals sort of peaking out - but they are warmer. If HoA is a cool Spring morning, ASTaD is more of a warm, summer 10 AM sort of blend. There's scorching heat, dust, and the hint of smoke (is that a windmill burning in the distance?) On drydown I get more of the clary sage and sunflower. I don't find this unpleasant, I actually kinda like it... but there is almost a soapy edge to me that is unpleasing. The throw is also very low, so this would be a scent I'd have to slather on. And I am not a slatherer.

Big hit of metal and ozone on wet. And as it dries, still metallic but more along the lines of a citrus male cologne - definitely with a hint of green. I find it very cool, and the citrus makes me think of lime, as opposed to either lemon/orange. Too masculine for my taste, and a bit too rare for me to try and entice mr. zee_zee to wear it. I agree that this has the same vibe as the Metal Phoenixes. I wonder if one of the components in this isn't elemi.

CMXXXIV (934) On wet: I get a big hit of lemon, and as it starts off, it's actually more of tangerine feel. In fact I'd say there's tangerine in it, possibly of the satsuma variety. It definitely dried to something herbal and yes, faintly reminiscent to baby wipes, so I am guess there is at least aloe in there. It has dried to something powdery, faint, and... hmmm. just... clean? Previously reviewed by Terrenity

Sour roses, incense and powdery woods. Not for me.

Dusty metal and red musk. Oddly enough they balance each other out, and in my mind it's a darker, muskier edgier version of Torture Queen.

I got a shot of peppermint at the beginning, but this is primarily a lavender and bergamot blend, which my skin eats up. Literally.

Oh man, I think I may love this one. It's a little masculine for me, but I do enjoy how the cognac really sweetens this blend up and I can smell the tobacco and wood, and just the barest hint of leather. It is much more masculine after about three hours, when the leather really sort of comes out of the background. But on wet, oh YUM!