zankoku_zen

Ah Motley, what a disappointment you are! Really, the mushroom is come and gone... and the intersection of the currants and rhubarb leaves me something sickly sweet and fake. In fact, it sort of smells like a port-a-potty freshner. You know, that weird sweet smell that is supposed to mask all the other odors, but doesn't? Yeah... that one. Damn you skin chemistry. Damn you.

Hmmm. This one is an odd one. It's got this green, fresh floral aspect and underneath, this smoky, gritty base. It's like it tries to reel you in with the nice springiness of it and then hits you with the smoky core.

2009 version. This one reminds me more to the 2005 version - definitely lighter, springier. I get the lemon and the rosemary, and something sweet (perhaps a touch of honey?). As it dries, it becomes this nice lemony floral potpourri. I have to say that out of 2005, 2007 and 2009, 2009 has to be my favorite.

I agree with cinderfallen --- I get a high, chalky sweetness, and some very very dirty patchouli base. Like sweets and dirt. Not for me.

Oh sad. On wet, I really got the tangerine, but it's dried to a rose with a hint of wheat blend. Erm... Yeah. Not my cup of tea.

This one is a pale white floral - I definitely get hints of honeysuckle and something else. On wet, it definitely had a bit of an 'artic' vibe to it. More like the smell I'd associate with the Great White North. Fresh, feminine. I can see a young girl wearing this.

I get a very golden resin blend from this. Sort of like Leo 2007 --- musky amber, woods and florals.

This one is a nice, hot ozone and wood blend. It's kinda masculine on me, despite the white floral edge it has. On wet, it had a more 'green grass' aspect to it that definitely morphed to 'hot fire air'. Fun, but not my kinda of blend.

Okay, so this was way more spicy on wet. It kinda reminded me to a floral sort of Plunder. As it dries, it's more of a fig/creamy almond. Uhh... Damn. After about two hours, the almond kinda smells like plastic. Which I've had problems with in Snow White. Phooey.

I find this to be more a masculine sort of blend. I get a chypre with musk. Fairly unisex, veering into the masculine. I get touches of ginger and lavender.

I got no apple... just ash. A lot of ash. On the drydown, it just smelled like a smoldering wood pile.

This is a very clean, very white floral sort of blend. I got the lemon blossom, and something that smelled faintly of apples. It was very airy and very refreshing. I can see this going 'cleanser/linen sheets' on people though. But if it works for you, it's a nice, light refreshing blend.

I think Bon Vivant gives you a stronger strawberry than Mania or Maenad, in my opinion. There isn't much in GCs for strawberry blends. I think it's because the strawberry E/O or F/O isn't that common.

This one is a lavender and narcissus blend. It's soft, pretty, white floral with a hint of melon, if you ask me. I think the melon note might be the violet. Pretty.

Fixed Earth: the essence of possession. Rose, daisy, apple blossom, violet, poppy, columbine, thyme, and mint. I am enjoying this more than I thought. The rose is not all that prevalent in this blend. It's a soft, aquatic sort of floral. It goes a bit soapy on the drydown, but I am pleased that the rose didn't dominate this blend.

Ah... Mystery. You smell like lavender soap and something else. Definitely soap. Definitely lavender. Definitely not that mysterious.

Oh man, this was an almost unbearably sweet plum with musky undertones. Sad to say that both King of Diamonds and King of Spades ended up being way femme.... more than I expected. I am beginning to think I am not a fan of plum.

Ah... this smells like Irish Spring soap and cow patties. As it dries, the cow patties smell more like leather, but the leather combined with some other element, still makes me think of farms, cows, and rolling green hills. It's got that fresh breeze through farms odor, where you occasionally get a whiff of cow poo.

Ah Pruno. You do smell like bad alcohol. Kinda like college made jungle juice. If you made it in a TOILET. There's a distinctive toilet cleanser/urinal cake superclean fume that is attached to the fruity alcohol. Not the type of scent I'd wear, but damn... this does smell like jailhouse hooch!

2005 Wow.... this really does smell like Christmas! It's got that spicy berry/holly/spiced wine thing going on. And yes, smells like Christmas. I'm not sure I want to smell like Xmas all the time... but when it's not December, it's got a nice nostalgic Xmas vibe to it.

Okay... Black musk can be either a) powdery or smell like B.O. on my skin. In this case, it smells powdery and combined with the butter, it smells like a buttery powder musk with a dash of spices. At least the cream is gone. Since cream rarely ever smells creamy on me. After a few hours, I remember thinking it smelled like a nice musky blend, warm, but that was about it. Nothing too descript and it smelled just that... kinda musky with no throw. Dodged a bullet here, I see.

GAAAAH. Rose. *sniff* Still on the drydown, rose with a hint of apple... and ylang ylang. But yeah, still pretty much a rose. Seeing that there are other rose blends, more easily accessible I am going to say PASS.

I agree with the dual layer bit, especially when you first wear it. I get this sharp musk/top rose floral and I can definitely smell the patchouli as the base. After about an hour, I can smell the oakmoss which has mixed with the rose, so it's this sexy sensual sort of scent on top of the patchouli. I like it better at this stage, but I get the same effect from the oakmoss in Ebisu, and with the bonus of peach instead of rose. So, yeah. Pass.

Guh! This is so good in my mind. I love the spice/cinnamon intersection which seems to dominate the blend, on top of the ginger and maybe a hint of cocoa. The other 13 I love, which is the purple one, smells like chai tea. This one smells like a spice store. Part of the spice mix makes me think of Red Rose, which is fairly masculine to me, but it's got the same heavy fragrant spice/cinnamon vibe to it. I'm totally keeping my decant.

Dry dry dry! This one is a very dry cedar blend, kinda sharp... and very much like pencil shavings on me. Bleh.