zankoku_zen

Definitely has dragon's blood, as it is sweet, spicy and just a little floral. Like lilies. I'm not a big one for smell, and probably not for purpose either. So I'll send this one away.

I don't get the cucumber in this - but I do get a nice, rich man's cologne - slightly aquatic but with the leather asserting itself. Oddly enough, it makes me think of Hessian of the Hollow. It's a little too masculine for me, but the leather doesn't work as well on my husband as it does on me. Ah well. It's a pretty sexy masculine cologne. Which surprises me, since I have a mild aversion to Phantom of the Opera, but that's really the taint of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical speaking.

I do agree that this is a lovely scent.... I think the wine might be blackberry wine, perhaps its the cherry that makes me think that. I get a sweet wine, deep smoky musk and leaves. This has a similar feel in my mind as Mabon does, except it's an animal musk sort of blend. I actually kinda really like this... but as hard to find as this is, I think I'll just be glad I tested it instead!

This is pine like no one's business. It reminds me to the Black Forest - that same sticky, slight sweet pine but without the berries. There's something a little smoky about it (probably the tobacco) and just a whiff of hemp. Very green. Kinda woodsy.

I find Host of Air and Ice Queen to be my summer blends.

I definitely get a sour, astringent Rose. The rose is, I think, similar to the one in The Miller's Daughter and some of the original Celestials. It has a warmer base, possibly myrrh. I agree with the comment of 'old rose'.

No problem! I kinda enjoyed Hellhound too, but that's always difficult to get a hold of, and I remember that the rum amped up, so I smelled more like a cigar that got put out in a rum bottle.

Thanks for the recs ladies. I'm going to have to revisit some of these, starting with the Illustrated Woman. Pine and honey can be both problematic notes, but looking back at my reviews it seems like the most likely candidate. I also have the problem that sometimes, tobacco ends up smelling like stale smoke. I might also give Antikythera Mechanism another whirl. That one went to WOOD on me, but here's to hoping the second time around might be different!

BUMP. I'd like your tobacco recommendations, please! Nothing with coconut or leather though, and I'm also trying to avoid roses since these then do be notes of DOOM on me. I'm hoping for something a little sweeter, but definitely smoky. Help?

This one is an odd blend. At the beginning, I get a bright burst of citrus and bergamot. And as it dries, it definitely becomes sweeter. The orange is still there, but faint. But it smells a little like jam, and a little resinous. Definitely the dark side of ORANGE!

Budding summer squashes and pole beans, tomato leaves, upturned earth, May's wildflowers, and sun-warmed herbs. Ah, Planting Moon. On wet, you are indeed the smell of a vegetable garden, the sharp GREEN stem of the tomato vine in the sun, luscious and alive. As you dry, you veer straight through a field of fresh wildflowers and end up lost in a giant creek of SOAP. Yes, smells like fresh, clean, laundry. GRRRRRRR.

This one begins as a little spicy, powdery musk. Definitely a warm scent. It has a bit of a soapy overtone on wet, but that evaporates quickly and I'm left with can only described as a musky, pulsating, blend. The civet mostly behaves in this blend, smelling sexy and musky, but with a faint trace of cat pee to it. Fairly animalistic. I don't typically enjoy blends like this one... but erm, yeah, I can totally see this being effective. Perhaps too effective...

Pain saved our household from what could have been a flea seige - we tracked some in from the cat-infested garage... I made a spray out of 2 mls Pain in about 4 ounces of boiled-&-cooled water, and misted down all our rugs, bedding, couches, etc. Then I took another ml-worth & rubbed it into some Borax, then sprinkled that over the worst of the rugs - let it sit for about 2 hours, the vacuumed it up. The fleas were GONE. You know, I know you've told me this before (as I got you that particular bottle). But it STILL boggles my mind. Pain kills fleas. Somehow I think we should have a t-shirt. Or that should be Pain's slogan now.

This one sure is tropical. I get alot of pineapple, coconut and big tropical flowers from this. There's something vaguely familiar about this blend, but I can't quite put my finger on it.

This one is definitely clean musk, citrus and a light floral. It's like a better version of Dirty. Pretty, polite, lemon scented.

On me, this basically smells like red musk and civet. No grapes. No booze. Perhaps a tiny hint of orange blossom. But LOADS of red musk, and this rivulet of something that smells darker and more ominous in it. Yeah, not for me.

I have to say that this one smells like I wanted Bon Vivant to smell like. It's got that sweet strawberry (not too sweet or overwhelming) and a nice boozy gin. On wet, I get more of the sugar and the gin. As it dries, I get more of the strawberry, which again, has the tiniest plastic edge. This is a very fun blend.

Frimp from a wonderful forumite. CDCXI (511): This one definitely has strawberry. It's like the offspring of Monsterbait: Closet + Dorian. As it dries, the strawberry recedes (and while it has acquired a bit of a plastic edge to it), the vanilla/cake aspect is less heavy than in Closet but still present. It's like Closet lite, with more vanilla musk. It alternates smelling like a Barbie doll and some tasty cake. So I can't seem to make up my mind on whether to keep it or let it go. But I do have Closet... so I might pass on this one. Although this one has been really yummy.

This was a little bitter, zesty citrus aquatic when first applied. As it dried, it has warmed up a bit, since I get whiffs of cedar and myrrh. It still has that bitter, zesty edge which I am enjoying, but overall might be a little too much like an industrial cleanser for me to fully love.

Ah, Thagiron smells of light, clean, yellow flowers. You know the type. It's got the bright citrus edge on wet, but that fades and I'm left with a faint, yet pleasant, clean smell. Unfortunately my skin eats this baby right up. BWAH!

Okay, so honey, wisteria and jasmine can all be problem notes on me. On wet, it's more floral but as it dries, the honey comes out and it kinda holds everything in this sticky, sweet medium. The jasmine doesn't really turn to cat pee and the wisteria isn't horribly overwhelming. That said, on me, it's definitely a honey/wisteria/jasmine blend. It's pretty, but not me.

Oh hurray! This is one blend where the vetiver does not smell like smoky bacon on me. In fact, it just smells like smoke. Particularly on wet. But on dry, oh baby. I get this spiced orange/tangerine with hints of amber and smoke. It's like a tiger's coat. The ORANGE with stripes of deep mysterious black. But the orange! It's bold, brilliant, smoldering, sexy. I don't know how orange ages, but I will find out because what I love about this blend is not the vetiver but the spiced orange/tangerine part.

You know, even with knowing that it has jasmine and wisteria I still wanted to try this sucker. And thanks to a very generous friend, I was able to. So, this one is a musky floral. Dark, musky, sophisticated floral. I can see people that like both Mme. Moriarty, Snake Charmer and Smut like this. It's got that same vibe. As it dries however, I get more of the jasmine (which only has a vague cat pee vibe to it) and WISTERIA. Why hello there WISTERIA. Stop rolling around in my dark, sophisticated musk. I said stop. No really. It's not funny. This doesn't make me like you better, you know.

Wow. This smells like a good cigar. It smells of cloves, all spice and TOBACCO. Yup. Cigar. A really expensive one. But still a cigar.

Ah Wolfie... you smell of pine, gin and cool wintery air at the beginning. As you dry, I get less pine, more cedar, and it becomes warmer, muskier. Cuddly even. Not my kinda gig at all. But now I wanna howl at the moon.