zankoku_zen

Okay, so yes, this is indeed musky, and there's resin and smoke, and in the vial it does smell like a wooded forest with a hint of green. It's masculine and musky, and then it turns a bit powdery on the drydown on me, again, slightly woodsy. I think the musk might be brown musk because.... It truly smells like unwashed b.o. on me. Like it smells like a$$. I kid you not. The person that generously allowed me to test a bit of concurred that it smelled positively rank. And like MANLY b.o. mind you. The only other time I've had this happen to me was in Smut. Having tested both red and white musk SNs, I can only think it was either black and or brown musk as the culpit. I am beginning to suspect brown musk, as this did not go to POWDERY DOOM on me. EPIC FAIL. On the other hand, yeah for dodging a bullet?

Strength on me was a very bright, very floral blend. And it must have a trace of jasmine, because I could definitely smell that on the drydown. I think there also might be lilies in there. To me this was a giant bouquet of sunny flowers.

Yum. This one is a lemon/orange sugary blend. On wet, it smells more like lemon, but as it dries it actually smells more like an orange, but given that orange just about dies on my skin, I'm beginning to suspect it's either satsuma or even tangerine instead of regular orange. It's pretty faint on me after a while, but nice while it lasts.

So on wet, I definitely smell the buttery, sconey aspect of it. Positively flakey. As it dries, I get more of the blackberry coming out. It dries almost entirely to a blackberry jam on me, with that slight 'baked' quality to it, which in my mind cuts down on the sugar. Pretty tasty.

Leather can be a problem note on this. On wet, this one does remind me to Quincy Morris. A 'rugged' yet 'soft' kind of leather (ie - its not overpowering or overwhelming). I can smell some of the pine and dirt on the drydown. It's masculine, sexy and very comfy. I can totally see this being absolutely stunning on the right male chemistry. Not mine. But perhaps I can lure Mr. zee_zee into trying this! ETA: EPIC FAIL on mr. zee_zee. It somehow ended up smelling like pine with a hint of leather. Yeah. PINE.

CCCXXII Hmmm. This one is odd. On wet, its got a sweet amber like edge, but it dries to something slightly fruity and sweet. And then, on further drydown the amber really comes out, and I think the sweetness is coming from tonka, but it ends up in a sort of 'clean' smelling land. Unisex. Not unpleasant, but not my cup of tea. Previously reviewed by fairnymph

280 Okay, despite previous reviews, I don't get a geranium/petit grain top note to this. Yes, there is a slightly green overlay to this but really, it dries down to Dorian. And that's it folks. Previously reviewed by cuervosueno

The chamomile is very present for me at least in this blend. It makes the vanilla blend much more masculine. I don't find the vanilla to be too cloying, I am enjoying the smokiness. I would be interested to see how this ages... I bet this will age beautifully. Torn between being happy with a decant or searching for a partial bottle. Decisions, decisions.

This one is a true morpher. In the vial, it actually smells like cheese to me. On wet, I get a blast of mint and a hint of dirt. As it dries, the mint burns off and I get a fruity/dirt scent. More fruit than dirt though. I'm not sure how I feel about this.

On wet, it actually makes me think of lilies. As it dries, it goes to soap.... and then I recognize the floral as WISTERIA. And now, that's all I get. Wisteria. Possibly wisteria soap. Ah yes, you evil fiend you. ETA: BTW, GIANT throw. And GIANT wear length. Did I mention GIANT? And if you haven't guessed, wisteria and I are not friends.

Hm. I have to say that the word 'gritty' is very apropos, esp. on the drydown. On wet, it's almost peppery and I dare think that black pepper is a component, as it dries, I got something that smelled very strongly of bay (it put me in mind of Azazel actually) and sharp pencil shaving notes.... which means it has cedar. It's quite possible this also has a touch of vetiver. Overall, it dries to a very heavy earthy kind of blend, masculine, gritty. It's not unpleasant, but it's not a scent I'd wear for the scent alone.

I like citrus blends, so I fairly enjoy this one. This has that tangerine/satsuma citrus note that I love in Velvet Tiger, but its got some spice at the bottom. I'm guessing some clove and maybe a touch of ginger. Freaking love this. Seriously. Need more. Now.

Definitely coconut and lemongrass. I thought that it smelled like lime, and oddly enough when I first put it on it reminded me to the BBW Coconut Lime Verbena scent line they have. It basically smells like that to me. But I think its definitely lemongrass, as lime has a tendency to fade fast and this lemony citrus smell is sticking around. But yeah, smells like lemon grass, watery coconut, and overall makes me think THAI food and the beach. But that's because coconut always makes me think of the beach.

Yum! This is indeed lemon vanilla frosting. Its got the same cake/frosting vibe as Closet, but this one is lemon and vanilla as opposed to strawberries and red velvet. This kind of stuff tends not to work on me, so I'm pretty pleased that this one did!

Oh god, this is like a chemical nuclear meltdown on me. It's very similar to Pollution in my mind, except more 'limey' and more 'citrusy' than Pollution. But it's got that same chemical/manly cologne fume on it. Insane throw. It actually makes me a little queasy.

Milky and herby is right! I get the pale watery kind of milk as I did in Milk Moon 2007, sans the fruit. It's got more of the herbs to it, and oddly enough, something that smells like dryer sheets to me. Pass.

Wow. On me this had lime with a little sugar. As it dries, I get a hint of bay. And oddly enough, this just ends up smelling like some sort of plastic doll. FEH.

Not made of win. This is way more powdery than I expected. The honey is not as aggressive as it normally tends to be and it's not really creamy. Just powdery. Slightly sweet. Meh.

Oh Sunbird. You do not fare well on my skin. Yes, you do have that dusty, hot air and desert thing going on with the sandalwood and a hint of cinnamon. Your promise of resin never really is fulfilled, at least on my skin. An hour later, you are gone. Like some sort of dream. Try the Ifrit if you have a hankering for this.

I got a testable sniffie of this rarity. I WUB YOU. You know who you are. Okay, I do get the red musk, perhaps a touch of melon, lilies. In general its got that white/floral lily top note, red musk as the base (possibly some other musk). On wet, I definitely got a fruity vibe to the floral, and it made me think melon. Overall, it's a 'cleaner', 'sweeter' and 'fruitier' version of the red musk SN. The words that come to mind, are clean and sophisticated. Very well blended. However, on my skin, its got an almost 'fake plastic baby doll' smell to it. ETA: The prototype of this is definitely lily, musky, and with light green stems. Doesn't go the plastic, but stays sweet, true and beautiful. I much more enjoyed the prototype.

Hrm, I am guessing this has violets, mint and sassafras. It's got that violet/mint edge, on top... but as it dries, I get a 'root beer' quality coming out. And that means sassafras. It's an odd mix really. The minty/violet top notes and the heart of root beer. Like dropping Altoids into your root beer soda.

On wet, this was an herbally aquatic. I don't really get a 'rock' impression, other than perhaps 'wet rock'. And then it goes to soap. Nice, clean, aquatic soap. More like soap bubbles. Boo.

Very aquatic. It reminds me to a couple of blends in PiA with the strong aquatic note. It also reminds me heavily of Tempest, as its got that same aquatic/ozone note that my skin loves. It definitely dominates my skin. If there is wood in there, I would have no clue. Great throw and great wear length (which I also got from Tempest).

This is definitely vanilla cream. Unfortunately, the BPAL's cream note tends to go to plastic on me, so I have this really nice vanilla plastic baby doll smell on me. That if I were a plastic doll, I'd adore. Moderate throw, it kinda stays close to my skin. Alas, I am but a flesh and blood woman.

Definitely fruitier, juicier, and very sexy. Deep, rich, musky. Red musk hasn't always been my friend, but I'm beginning to think its the OTHER elements in some of those blends as opposed to the red musk itself.