zankoku_zen

Part of me really enjoys this. I get a lot of the cherry blossom - it's young, spring like, festive. Cute. It's a bright and happy floral. Very simple. Delicate without being wilting. Pretty. And I would think very appropriate for a young girl.

This one is a dark blend! I get the smoky bacon/vetivert with an edge of pine but it turns into smoky bacon and sexy musk. Go figure.

Ohgod, I get the jasmine of doom in this blend. It's sharp, floral, and the jasmine is so predominant, and it gets the dreaded cat pee edge. Even my son, whose not into describing smells and is going through that lovely stage in which farts and fart jokes are the best thing in the world, went "Ew!"

I get some of the light musk, dusty paper and linen --- but really, it just smells like pencil shavings on me. Nice pencil shavings, but still... pencil shavings. SAD!

Oh man, this was a sweet red wine and roses scent. It's got a bit of a bite and it's very sensual. As it dries however, it just becomes red red roses. You know the kind. Big. Voluptous. Sensual. Ah, if I only liked slutty roses.

Okay, this is basically dragon's blood resin and amber on me. It's a sweet, spicy amber blend. Unfortunately the amber goes powdery on me after about an hour.

Wow, this is the fruitiest thirteen... ever. I definitely get the peach, the starfruit, the overlay of honey. If there is chocolate it is way way in the background. It's like a dessert of honeyed peaches with shaved chocolate on top. Damn... now I'm hungry...

Oh man, this one is like a cookie version of 13 --- I get the cocoa, the spices and something that just screams "Cookie!" at me. I think its the combination of vanilla and sandalwood that is the most prevalent.

Thanks to Dark Alice for the sniffie frimp of this! Whew! Another bullet dodge here. I mean, sure I get the eggnog + coffee thing going on. It's creamy and just like eggnog with the strong coffee base --- and then it veers straight into plastic egg nog land. Ah well... it could be worse I suppose.

Oh man, I'm kinda confused about what is in this thing --- I think it's pear and not apple, definitely cinnamon and some other spice, I get both the pine and a hint of wine as a base. It smells Christmassy and festive and like a party scent. Definitely has that red-brown-golden vibe to it. Mmm. Tasty.

Pine trees and gin! This is what it smells like. I get the pine, which on me is amped up with the juniper. If this is what lycanthropes smell like, they must be Santa's bodyguards! I can't fear something that smells like it could be hoisted on top of a Christmas tree in a moment of drunken revels. I mean, just ask Anthony Bourdain about that....

Ah, yes, evil maple syrup incense. That's pretty much what is smells like. Deep, dark, lurking evil incense with just enough sweetness to make it all that more... well, evil.

Urd started as a smoky floral, and now has just debased herself to a floral patchouli. ... It makes me sad, it does.

This one is a nice softly green scent - limey, fizzy currants with herbs. Very pretty, crisp and clear. Yum!

Flowers! Flowers! I mean, really, it's a giant bouquet and mish-mashed and while floral, I feel like I smell something a bit different every time I sniff. Once I think I got parsley leaf, the other daffodil, the other time I swear it might have been tulip. It makes my nose explode.

Oh god, this is green. Green grass, moss and cucumber. It's light and fresh, and smells utterly clean. Yeah, I don't exactly know what to do with this... I kinda like it and kinda wish I didn't. Since its so rare. But yeah.... GREEN love. Which just seems appropriate. Really. ETA: Now that I've have had it for a while, I def. smell a hint of melon (which may or may not be lettuce) at the beginning and clover. On the drydown it shares a lot of similarities with Host of Air. Which is totally okay with me.

GOP does start out fairly masculine, with a fairly polished woodsy scent with curls of cigar smoke. It smells moneyed, powerful. There's a splash of cologne in this mix as well. After about an hour, the drydown is a smidge powdery, like the guy has grown a potbelly from too many good dinners.

Oh man, jasmine, why do you ruin everything? I get some of the lovely musk and cherries that people are talking about, but it's really jasmine that blooms and blooms and blooms on my skin. Nuts.

This blend has the soft, slushy snow note that I love in Ice Queen. In fact, I was reveling in its IQ dupeness for the first half hour. After that, it changes however. It becomes a much grassier scent and the lovely snow goes to the background. In some ways, I feel like this is IQ's little brother. The kind that likes to play outside and likes Spring a little too much to be all wintery all the time. ETA: It's an effervescent sweet pine, but unfortunately, it dries to a floral soap. Now I remember why I didn't hold on to this.

Wow, the components in this blend are usually pretty bad on me, but this is a nice, soft rose blend. The patchouli doesn't smell dirty, the rose isn't overly aggressive and the sandalwood isn't powdery. Huzzah!

This one is myrrh, roses and spices. It's a soft, kinda musky rose blend that stays close to the skin. I can see how people would find this sexy, but I'm not a rose fan.

This one is a cool, crisp refreshing bath oil. I get mainly the lettuce and tea components out of it. It's a nice non-floral, non-foodie alternative. As always, very moisturizing and a little goes a LONG way.

This one has the same metallic note as Bed of Nails and Torture Queen - but it's more delicate and airy. There's a faint musk scent to it - but again, lighter and crisper. On the whole this is a very pleasant metallic blend, and I would use it as a starter for anyone that wanted to try a metallic blend but was too afraid to do so.

Candy! This one smells like a watermelon sugar rush to me. Think of those rock candies on a stick! It's pink, sugary and utterly cavity inducing. Yum.

This one was a plummy scent - but it wasn't creamy, but rather 'green' and with a hint of lime. Interesting, but not for me.