zankoku_zen

Plum plum plum all the way. This started out as a plummy kinda fruity floral. And now it's definitely in YOUR face plum. Very very sweet on me. Too sweet.

Ah, this is a weird rosey coconut. Roses, coconuts and some herbs. It's like the smell of a really pretty girl wearing a bikini on a hot summer beach. So, yeah, totally not me. Curse you coconut!

God, this is a cage match between honey and jasmine. And somehow thyme is in the mix. It's this weird goopy honey with jasmine that taste like thyme. Huh? Yeah.

Wow, this one doesn't work on me. At all. The lilac combines unpleasantly with the citrus and the amber, and they really do make a horrible mess with my skin chemistry. I don't think I've had such a bad experience since The Dodo. Yup, not for me.

This blend is a sweet resinous blend on me. Slightly smoky at the beginning, it's slightly sweaty (may be the oakmoss) and the musk is sweet and resinous, and doesn't go to powder. This is a sweet, friendly goat!

I got both a 'wintergreen' imp and an imp decant circa 2004. The 2004 version is softer florals, but it has more throw. Misty, whispy forest flowers. Not too woody. It made me think of the image of clouds on treetops, right after a storm. The 'wintergreen' version: the menthol is pronounced and the most dominant note on wet. It pretty much disappears though, and what is left is a drydown that is almost exactly the same as the 2004 version, but with less throw. It was interesting to do the side by side comparison.

Oh man, I love this Dorian 10ml I was able to swap for. It is in a cobalt blue and it's aged and perfectly delicious.

This one is dark and dusky fruits slightly dusty. This one is a very dark, very heavy scent on me. The musk is counterbalanced by the fruits, which are a little pulpy and jammish, but the heaviness of the musk is a good counterpoint. I don't think of this as 'masculine' per say. It's hard to categorize. Dark fruits and florals. It makes me think of the phrase 'woman of the night'. Literally.

Wow. This REALLY is dirt. Wet dirt. Potting dirt - the rich and loamy kind. It smells like it. When I first uncapped the vial and applied it, I got the delicate smell of a mushroom cap. This vanished. And it was wet dirt. Unfortunately, my skin eats this right up. Maybe 30 minutes, and then its gone. But while it lasts - dirt, dirt and more dirt.

This one, at the beginning, definitely reminded me to the Poisoned Apple. Cool, crisp green tart apples. But it's more crystalline, more snowy, colder than PA. For a while during the drydown, it goes into a soapy kinda stage, but it bounces back from that. Mmm. Vampire apples. I like this, and will keep the decant, but probably not hunt for more.

Oh man, I got cherry blossoms and ... KFC chicken on wet. WHUH? As it dried, I got this licorice and sandalwood kind of scent. Pleasant, but I'm not all that fond of licorice. Pass.

I have to say, the civet is strong with this one. This is the original Puck - a lab labelled imp. The civet has not mellowed at all. At the beginning it was musky berries, with a touch of clary sage. Now it's clary sage and musk and civet. It kinda makes me think of a cat. And cat pee. Puck is a no-go.

Oh boy, at the beginning this was maraschino cherries with a shot of cinnamon. As it dries, the cherries aspect fades and I get more of the cinnamon and sassafras/licorice aspect going on. This is potent and sexual. On the right guy... oh, he's sex on legs. Not my hubby's kind of scent, and if I wore this, I'd have to find a guy that can wear this scent. Induced to cheat because of BPAL? This is THAT kind of scent. Danger, Will Robinson, danger. Danger, indeed.

This. so. doesn't. work. The bubblegum of the lotus kills the lavender. So it's this weird spicy bubblegum with lavender pieces in it. Phew.

Again, this one has dragon's blood in it - but at the beginning there's the DB and a scorched kind of hay smell to it. This softens to florals. I don't actually get a 'rose' impression from the florals. I do get a bit of a 'gin' smell from the juniper berries.

Oh man, this smells like cinnamon. It starts out as a spicy blend, and I do think there's dragon's blood because it smells very strongly of that to me. On the drydown, I get more of the cloves that others have. There's a touch of musk, which makes it slightly sweaty. Spicy, slightly sweaty, and somewhat, wild and feral. I'm not a huge fan of cinnamon or DB but this one is a pretty scent.

I'm beginning to think that the BPAL linen note likes me. Alot. Because I get a very strong linen note, and then an almost spicy/woody kind of whiff to it. But yeah, smells like linens. Woo.

You know, I didn't think I'd like this one. I love the artwork of it - but I was worried about the tobacco and the patchouli and the honey. All of which can be very aggressive notes on me. I definitely get a whiff of pine, but I get a honeyed smoky resin underneath. It's strongly, slightly gritty, but womanly. And yes, it does make me think of the picture and it's inspiration. Heh. ETA: I had to try this again, and while the tobacco/patchouli bit is interesting, I find that honey sweetens very much, so it's a much sweeter blend than I would like, so I'm gonna have to pass this off to a good home.

This is a very light scent on me. Slightly herbal on wet, very dry and white on drydown. I do get a bit of the nuttiness and it throws me off a bit.

Iago for me is boozy kinda of leather. It's a leather coat fresh out of the rain in a smoky bar. Very masculine. In the bad boy sort of way. This is the sort of guy you know you don't have a relationship with. In fact, you don't even know when he's going to show up and screw your brains out.

This was a very citrusy rose on wet, and now it's rose powder. Nope, not for me.

This started out as sweet grass, and I thought it might have a little lotus in it, then it becomes a jasmine incense. Boo. I liked the grass stage.

I have to say that Clemence surprises me. It's more wearable than the notes indicate - it starts out spicy on me. I definitely smell the pepper and clove on me. As it dries, I get more of the carnation peeping out and some of the tea, which makes it an almost 'gentle' kind of scent. I can see this appealing to Hod, Inez or Judith & Holofernes lovers - but it's spicy in different ways than any of the previous three blends, at least on me.

Hmm, I have to say that Marianne smells like sweet red musk (ah lotus) to me. I get occasional whiffs of bergamot on the dry down which lends it at citrusy edge. This is very sexy, very sensual.

I definitely get the beeswax and the leather - and it makes me think of a candle burning. If the candle was made of desicated body parts! It's spicy and warm, sort of the same vein of Pickled Imp. But definitely a candle.